NHL.com correspondent Dave McCarthy spoke with Mike Babcock regarding the Toronto Maple Leafs defense core, and with the addition of Hainsey:
It appears that Babcock has most of the blueline planned out, although it’s worth pointing out that it is August and the Leafs clearly still want to upgrade their top-four. If Rielly and Hainsey are paired together, that leaves Jake Gardiner with Nikita Zaitsev to round out the top two pairs. Connor Carrick will likely play on the last pair, with the final spot up for grabs.
The Leafs headed into last season confident that they had finally found a partner for Rielly in Nikita Zaitsev.